Teen Charged In Assault On Baby In Hospital Room

On July 9, Yolanda Blunt noticed her 3-week-old daughter Jasmine lying on her bed gasping for air.

``It was like someone blew a big gust of wind at her and she was taking it all in,`` Blunt recalled.

Later that day, Jasmine was admitted to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center for observation. She was placed in a room with an 11-month-old boy where they slept in shiny chrome cribs in separate corners of the room, covered with yellow blankets.

Two days later, horrified hospital officials discovered that somehow, Jasmine`s arms and legs had been broken; eventually eight breaks were found.

On Friday, Nekenge Power, 17, the mother of the 11-month-old boy who shared Jasmine`s room was charged with aggravated battery. Police said she violently twisted Jasmine`s limbs because the baby would not stop crying.

Police gave this account of what happened:

On July 11, Power was at the hospital. She had quarreled over the telephone with her boyfriend and her mother.

She became more upset when she heard the children in the room crying and tried to stop their racket. She then slapped her son.

When Jasmine continued to cry, according to Detective TV Minton, of the Wentworth Area violent crimes unit, Power twisted the baby`s tiny legs until they broke. She did the same to her arms. Then she wrapped Jasmine up in the blanket and left her in the crib.

Blunt said Friday that she had encountered Power in the Mercy hospital room on the evening of July 11 after noticing that Jasmine`s arms appeared to be dislocated.

Power had just returned from an X-ray room with her son who was in her arms, Blunt said.

``She showed no remorse,`` Blunt recalled. ``She was nice to me. She even bought me food and a pop.``

Power was being held in the Wentworth District police lockup pending an appearance in court on Monday. No bond has been set.

Blunt said she planned to pursue a negligence lawsuit that has been filed against the hospital. She expressed anger at hospital personnel who allegedly heard her daughter`s screams, and shock that another woman-a mother of an 11- month-old child-could inflict such pain on an infant.

``What kind of person would do something like that?`` Blunt asked.

Jasmine is being treated at Children`s Memorial Hospital. Each of her four limbs is in a cast, according to Blunt, who said eight bones were broken. She is hopeful her daughter will be released from the hospital this weekend.

Police interviewed Power after the incident because she was a primary witness, Minton said.

She became a suspect after police discovered discrepancies in her versions of events, according to Minton. She eventually admitted the attack on the child, he said.

Relatives of Power, who according to police, are now caring for her child, refused to comment on the criminal charges.

``When I heard the news, I couldn`t believe it,`` said a neighbor of Power who requested anonymity. ``She was friendly to everyone in the building. She went to church. She rarely came out of the house.``

Dave Schneidman, a spokesman for the Department of Children and Family Services, said the department has no immediate plans to take custody of Power`s son.

Power has no previous record of child abuse, Schneidman said.

``I`m relieved that they caught the person who did this to my child,``

Blunt said. ``I didn`t know if something had fallen on her or what. Where were the doctors and nurses at Mercy when she did this to my baby and she was crying? I entrusted them with my child.``

A Mercy Hospital official denied that the hospital neglected its responsibilities.